What's New?

Top five recession-busting tips for prescription medicines (April 2013)

Prescription charges in England rose again at the start of April to £7.85 per item. Paying for prescriptions is a real financial burden to many, so the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has issued five top tips to help patients save money and get the best advice on buying medicines.
The  Prescription Charges Coalition published a survey report in March, Paying the Price, showing that 35% of respondents had not collected at least one item due to cost. The report recommends that discussion of the prepayment certificate should be a part of routine care.  The survey shows 37% of patients found out about the certificate from their pharmacist, 23% from friends or family and 14% from their GP.

RPS 2012 Media Highlights Video (Mar 2013)

The RPS promotes pharmacy and its members in the media. RPS has put together a video showcasing its media highlights for 2012. You can watch it by clicking here and see the range of stories featured. Last year RPS spokespeople appeared on national TV every two weeks, were heard on regional radio once a week and featured in national media (TV, radio, print) around once every three days.

Join the RPS LinkedIn network and stay connected (Nov 2012)

We are now on LinkedIn . If you have a professional LinkedIn profile, you will now be able to follow us and keep in touch with our company news. By following us you will connect to our network of contact and be able to exchange knowledge and opportunities with a broader group of professionals. As the biggest professional network LinkedIn gives you a chance to connect not only to other Society members but also other healthcare professionals.

We will be creating regular news updates detailing our activities, so it would be great if you could help us to promote our initiatives by sharing them with your own professional contacts or post them on LinkedIn groups you may be part of. So join our LinkedIn network and stay connected!

RPS publishes report on transfer of medicines information between care providers  (June 2012)

RPS has issued a report titled “Keeping patients safe when they transfer between care providers: Getting the medicines right” (RPS Transfer of Care Final Report ), which  outlines the results of a six-month project involving over 30 healthcare organisations which volunteered to implement RPS guidance on transfer of medicines information. The report calls for improvements to the transfer of information about medicines, and the following recommendations have been made (taken directly from source):

• All suppliers of IT systems to hospitals and general practice should ensure their systems can effectively transfer recommended core content of medicines records
• All community pharmacies should have an NHS.net website address to enable secure communications between secondary and primary care.
• All clinical records should be structured in a recognised and nationally agreed format to assist interoperability and the transfer of information.
• National sharing of the most effective ways of signposting patients in secondary care to the post discharge Medicine Review Service and New Medicine Service provided by community pharmacists to enable patients to optimise benefits from their medicine.
•  Commissioning of post-discharge MURs for vulnerable patients should be considered as part of the pharmacy contractual frameworks

Retired Pharmacists (May 2012)

There is now a Retired Pharmacists Flyer entitled 'Be Involved, Stay in Touch' which sets out the activities and events the Retired Pharmacists Group is organising, and how retired pharmacists can contribute to the RPS and benefit from membership. Many former members of the RPSGB are apparently unaware that they would pay a special reduced retired fee. Please see this flyer and consider rejoining the RPS. There is no administration fee for rejoining. If you know of former members of the RPSGB please give them a copy of the flyer.

 RPS Annual General Meeting 2012

12 June 2012 at 6.00pm, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 1 Lambeth High Street, London
All RPS members are warmly welcome at the Society's AGM on Tuesday 12 June 2012, which will take place in the Conference Suite at the RPS, from 6.00pm. Click on this link to view the program for the evening.

RPS Online - Getting the most from your membership (May 2012)

This RPS Online Worksheet lists suggested resources and features for Pharmacists to find and use on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society website: www.rpharms.com. Pick and choose what you want to find; or have an explore for yourself.

RPS expresses concern that manufacturers by-passing the Traditional Herbal Medicine Registration Scheme (May 2012)

The RPS has marked the first anniversary of the Traditional Herbal Medicine Registration Scheme with a letter in the Times expressing concerns that manufacturers are by-passing the Scheme and selling remedies as food supplements instead. The new scheme was introduced to ensure the safety and quality of medicinal herbs available for self-selection by customers for self-limiting minor ailments. The registration of a herbal product as a traditional herbal medicine guarantees it contains the stated amount of the specified herb and the absence of dangerous adulterants such as heavy metals. Registered herbal medicines must be sold with a patient information leaflet with safety information for customers. Far less stringent safety and quality requirements apply to products sold as herbal food supplements. The RPS believes that regulators and advisory bodies need to be much clearer about rejecting medicines masquerading as food supplements and crack down on manufacturers who are avoiding safety and quality tests on their products.  For further information click on this Link

GP Prescribing Errors (May 2012) 

General Medical Council report investigating the prevalence and causes of prescribing errors in general practice received extensive news coverage in print, on radio and on TV. The report highlighted that, although in the main GP prescribing was safe, more could be done to improve matters. One of the Society’s key priorities is to make Britain a safer place to take medicines and it took this opportunity to remind the public about the great work that pharmacists do around patient safety and the role you play in reducing errors.

Here are just some of the highlights:

Dr Mary Tully MRPharmS started the day with a slot on BBC Breakfast. This was followed by Howard Duff MRPharmS being interviewed on the BBC and ITV lunchtime news. Callers to BBC Radio 2 talked about their ‘heroic’ pharmacists and Neal Patel MRPharmS, our Head of Communications, featured on over a dozen regional radio stations throughout the day including BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Essex and BBC Radio Cornwall.

The story featured on the front cover of The Daily Telegraph where we were quoted saying that ‘The number of mistakes could be reduced by up to 50% if GPs introduced an in-house pharmacist-led support scheme’. The story was also covered in The Times and the Daily Mirror, and The Guardian and Daily Express featured the story on their online sites.

As well as raising the profile of pharmacy, they were able to stress the role that pharmacists play in spotting GP errors. In his interviews on BBC News 24, Neal used the opportunity to highlight the essential role carried out by community pharmacists to keep patients safe and on radio he discussed the new services provided by community pharmacists such as the New Medicines Service as well as pressing  for greater involvement of pharmacists in the quality and safety of prescribing. Research showed that having pharmacists working alongside GPs reduced prescribing errors (i.e. before medicine is dispensed) by 50%.

RPS highlighted that many surgeries already have in house pharmacists, either employed by the practice or the NHS, often focused on the important issue of driving down prescribing costs. However, we want to see more of the time of these pharmacists being spent on improving the safety and quality of prescribing and a more consistent approach across General Practice.

This would be in addition to community pharmacists who already perform an absolutely essential patient safety role which must continue. The role of community pharmacists clinically checking prescriptions and helping patients understand more about their medicines is beyond doubt and is a vital way of maintaining safety and improving the quality of patient care. New services such as the New Medicines Service are also providing opportunities for pharmacists to use their expertise.

RPS Survey  Members on Health and Social Care Bill (Feb 2012)

The English Pharmacy Board has announced a period of further engagement with members about the NHS reforms proposed in England via this survey  . Their previous consultation with members showed that the key areas of concern were:

• Ensuring a level playing field in commissioning
• Pharmacy representation at all levels within the new NHS structures 
• A clear split between commissioning and providing services
• Retaining the expertise of primary care pharmacists within the new NHS structures
• Ensuring that the public health role of pharmacy is recognised and promoted 
• Reducing the potential for fragmentation of services where this is harmful to patients

Recently members have approached the RPS with further concerns about the NHS reforms and the Society's approach. We are therefore asking for their views on the impact of these reforms on the profession and patient care, and whether they believe the Society should continue to focus on the areas outlined above.

These questions are only for pharmacists who currently work in England. If someone has recently retired or have taken a break from work they should only complete this survey if the last place they worked was in England. The outcomes of this survey will help to inform thinking on the Society's response to NHS reforms by Government.

NHS prescription charges to increase in England from April 1st 2012

The government has announced an increase in prescription charges in England by 25p to £7.65 from 1 April. The cost of a prescription payment certificate (PPC), which is valid for three months, will remain at £29.10 and the price of an annual PPC will be remain at £104. 

RPS criticises the rise in Prescription Charges
The RPS has criticised the rise in prescription charges. The RPS is part of the Prescription Charges Coalition and has agreed the following statement with 24 charity partners: “It is simply unacceptable to be raising the cost of prescriptions in the current economic climate. We already know that some people with long-term conditions are rationing or stopping taking potentially life-saving medicines because they are too expensive and even Ministers have acknowledged that the prescription charges system is unfair. It is essential that the Government goes further to help people with long-term conditions. As a first step, all prescription charges must be frozen until the next General Election. We are pleased that the Government has not increased the cost of Pre-payment Certificates, but we know that these certificates are not easy for everyone to afford up front.” The Prescription Charges Coalition is urging people to send a message to the government by signing an E-petition on prescription charges

What is the LPF Leadership Network? (Jan 2012)

The LPF Leadership Network is a new network for 2012 of local pharmacy leaders from across the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) membership. As a collective voice at a local level, this provides its members with the opportunity to: Share best practice with other local leaders; engage with each other steering groups on common goals and challenges faced when running a LPF; influence the national agendas from a local perspective. The LPF Leadership network will also enable the RPS to directly share the latest developments at a local leadership level and provide more direct support to those members who are working hard for other local members.

RPS launches report on involving patients in decision-making about their medicines (Dec 2011)

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has launched the report ‘Involvement, Shared Decision-Making and Medicines’ by Professor Alan Cribb, which focuses on joint decision-making between professionals and patients.  The paper raises the need of greater clarity about the range of different purposes and agendas in the area of medicines and patient involvement. For further information click on this Link 

New Accreditation Service (July 2011)

RPS have recently launched a new Accreditation Service for events, training courses and materials which meet our high standards and commitment to medicines management and patient care. Healthcare professionals attending RPS accredited events and courses and using our accredited materials (carrying the RPS accredited logo pictured left) will know they are accessing resources that have undergone rigorous quality assurance by external reviewers with expertise in the subject matter. Click to read more about our Accreditation Service.

Medicines, Ethics and Practice, edition 35 (July 2011)

The latest  Medicines, Ethics and Practice, edition 35, is now available. RPS members should have received their free hard copy.  Make the most of MEP by using the online version, which also includes a new improved legal classification of medicines database as well as an A-Z list of all available guidance related to the topic.  Visit MEP Online

Society launches transfer of care campaign (July 2011)

The Society has launched a high profile campaign to improve the transfer of medicines information when patients move between care settings.

Research shows that patients moving between care settings are facing unnecessary risks because correct information about the medicines they are taking often doesn’t transfer with them. Statistics published in the Pharmaceutical Journal showed a total of 4,041 errors were found in 3,091 reviews of patients’ medicines carried out in 30 hospital trusts across England in September 2010.

To support the campaign we have published new practice guidance for health professionals, service commissioners and providers to outline a framework for action. In recognition of the fact that to achieve any meaningful improvement in this area we need a joined-up approach between all the health professions, the guidance has been endorsed by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Physicians.

We have also produced a brief guide for members to help you understand what the professional guidance means for you. The campaign is being supported by media activity and we have produced information for patients, including a short video, a factsheet and a form to fill in to create a list of medicines available on the ipharmacist website. Over the coming months we will be working with early adopters on the implementation of this new guidance. In the meantime, you can find out more about the campaign here.

RPS produces quick reference guide on how to use the BNF

RPS launches “ipharmacist.me”

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has launched “ipharmacist.me”, an online resource for pharmacy based health campaigns, providing information about RPS health campaigns, medicines, and pharmacy. For further information click on: Link

PJ Online

If you are a member of the Society, full and unlimited access to PJ Online is free of charge. Just make sure that your profile is updated with your membership details.If you choose to discontinue your Society membership, you will need to take out a subscription to PJ Online.